Unless you’re building your own home from the ground up, it’s not easy to find a sewage pump setup that checks every box. Many homeowners make compromises on bathrooms to stay within their renovation budget — and often plan upgrades for later. The challenge? The average bathroom remodel costs over $11,000, and that number can skyrocket with premium finishes.
While homeowners may recoup around 64% ROI from an upscale bathroom addition, it doesn’t solve the issue of the steep upfront investment. A smart way to cut costs without compromising on functionality is to reevaluate your toilet options.
Installing standard toilets often requires cutting into walls and floors to connect to your home’s main plumbing system. This might involve additional piping and more extensive plumbing adjustments.
Upflush toilets offer a cost-effective alternative. These toilets can be installed just about anywhere without the need to break into existing walls or flooring — unless you want a more concealed finish by linking it to your existing drain system. With an upflush toilet, you can create the bathroom you’ve envisioned at a more manageable cost.
What Exactly Is an Upflush Toilet?
Also known as power flush toilets or toilet pump systems, these units outperform conventional toilets in both power and design flexibility. They are engineered to minimize clogs and keep bowls cleaner for longer. Most notably, they give you the freedom to install a bathroom where traditional plumbing would normally be a challenge.
Conventional toilets rely on gravity-fed plumbing systems to flush waste downward. Upflush systems use a combination of air and water from a pressurized tank to force waste upward and into your sewage or septic line — making them perfect for lower levels like basements.
Once flushed, the waste is shredded and processed by a built-in grinder or macerator pump before being directed into the waste line.
How Upflush Toilets Operate
When you flush, the macerator motor engages and waste flows into the pump’s chamber. The blades grind the material into a slurry within seconds. From there, the unit propels the waste through connected piping to your main drainage system.
Depending on the setup, the pump can be hidden inside the wall via an extension pipe, or it may sit just behind the toilet as a visible but compact unit.
